Method of canning corn or other vegetables.



Patentd May'lB, l902. STARE.

c. H. PLUMMER v@L F. T. METHOD OF CANNING CORN OR OTHER -VEGETABLE-S.

(Application filedFeb. 7, 1901.)

(No Model.)

TN: Nalini-s PETE do.. PHoTo-Llrno.. wnsnmtou. D, c.

wiTnn @Tatras PaTnwT time CLARENCE II. PLUMMER AND FRANKT. STARE, OFWAUKESHA, VISCONSIN.

METHOD OF CANNING CORN OR OTHER VEGETABLES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 699,765, dated May13,1902. Application tiled February '7, 1901. Serial No. 46,291. (Nospecimens.)

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that we, CLARENCE H. PLUM- MER and FRANK T. STARE, citizensof the United States, residing at Waukesha, county of Waukesha, andState of lVisconsin, have invented new and useful Improvements inMethods of Canning Corn or other Vegetables, of which the following is aspecification.

Our invention relates to improvements in methods for canning corn andother Vegetables.

In canning' corn or preserving green corn according to the practiceheretofore prevaiL ing the corn is first partially cooked, then pressedinto the can in a hot and steaming condition, whereupon the can issealed and subsequently cooked in a retort for a prolonged period oftime, during which the retort is maintained at a iixed temperaturer muchhigher than the boiling-point in the open air. In other words, the cansare filled with corn at a temperature of about 200O Fahrenheit, afterwhich they are sealed and subjected to a temperature of about 250Fahrenheit for a considerable period of time. This method is expensive,owing to the great length of time required for the heat to reach thecenter of the can sufficiently to thoroughly sterilize all the corn, andgreat care must be exercised in order that the corn shall not bediscolored; but even with the greatest care great loss often resultsfrom an insufficient sterilization and the consequent fermentation; yetthis practice has been followed, for the reason that it has heretoforebeen considered impossible to first cook and sterilize the corn and thenfill the cans with it at a temperature sufficient to preventfermentation without a subsequent cooking after the cans are sealed,owing to the fact that such high temperatures produce a rapid andviolent ebullition of the partially-liquid mass, which makes itimpossible to properly iill the cans under the conditions heretoforeexisting.

The object of our invention is to provide a method whereby the operationof cooking and sterilizing the corn and other Vegetables may be firstcompleted and the cans then filled while the material is at atemperature considerably above the boiling-point in open air withoutcausing such an ebullition of the contents of the cans as will preventthe cans from being properly filled and sealed.

In the following description reference ishad to the accompanyingdrawings, in which- Figure l is a side elevation of an inclosed chamberused in carrying out our improved method, with the walls of saidchamber` partiaily broken away. Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view ofthe discharge-gate for the cans. Fig. 3 is a similar view of the gatefor delivering the cans to the interior of the chamber. Fig. 4 is avertical sectional view of the same, together with the chute down whichthe cans are passed to the cooker. Figs. 5 and 6 are horizontal andvertical sectional views, respectively, of a device for feeding corninto the chamberpreparatory to cooking the same. Like parts areidentified by the same reference-figures throughout the several views.

l is a closed air-tight chamber 0r receptacle, within which theapparatus for cooking the corn and sealing the cans may be located. 2 isa driving-shaft entering from the exterior through any suitablestuffing-box and provided with a pulley 3, from which motion iscommunicated to any ordinary form of cooker and can-iiller by means of abelt 4. Motion is also communicated from the shaft 2 to a cansealingmachine by means of the pulley and belt 6. Both the cooker and thecan-llin g machine may be made of any ordinary t-ype, and

, we have,therefore, not illustrated any specific form of machine. Theconveyer 7 is, however, used to transfer the filled cans 8 from thecooker and the iiller to the sealing-machine.

9 is an air-pump having its discharge-port connected by a pipe l0 withthe interior of the chamber l, and 11 is a vent-pipe of considerablyless capacity than that of the pipe 10. The air in the chamber l ismaintained at a pressure greater than that of the external atmosphereand at a sufiicient pressure to prevent the corn from boiling While thecans are being filled and sealed. Where the corn is heated to atemperature of about 250, it will be necessary to maintain a pressure inthe chamber l of about two atmospheres or fifteen pounds to the inch inexcess of that of the external air.

In order to permit the persons in charge of the machines to enter andleave the chamber l without materially reducing the internal pressure,we have provided a vestibulo 12,

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having a door 13 leading to the exterior and a door 14 leading to theinterior of the chamber 1. As the vestibule is of relatively small sizein proportion to the chamber, it is obvious that by rst entering thevestibule and closing the door 12 a person may then open the door 14 andenter the chamber 1 without materially reducing the pressure therein.

In order to deliver a supply of cans to the exterior of the chamber 1,we have provided agate consisting in a set of rotary wings 15,revolvingin a cylindrical casing 16, the wings being arranged to revolvein air-excluding contact with the Walls'of the casing. The cans 17 areinserted between the wings 15 through an aperture 18 in one side ofthecasing, substantially as shown in Fig. 3, the wings being then revolvedto carry the can into registry with the mouth of the chute 19, when thecans drop by gravity to theq bottom of the chute or into contact withother cans previously delivered thereto. The lower end of the chute 19is contracted, so that the cans will substantially fill the same andprevent the escape of any material quantity of air through the chute. Asomewhat similar device is used for discharging the filled cans from thechamber,the cans being delivered from the sealing-machine along aconveyer 20, when they are caught between wings 21, operating inacylinder 22, located in one of the side walls of the chamber, the cansbeing carried by the wings 21 around the cylinder and discharged into aninclined passage-way 23, exterior to the chamber-walls. For deliveringthe corn into the chamber we have provided a'hopper 24, from which thecorn is fed into rotary measuring-receptacles 25, which revolvealternately into registry with the mouth ofthe hopper 24 and with achute 26, leading to the interior of the chamber.

In order to provide for a supply of gas for heating the soldering-headsof the headingmachine, wehave provided a carbureter 30, through whichcompressed air is driven from a blower 31, located in the interior ofthe chamber 1, through a pipe 32. The gas returns to the chamber lthrough pipe 33. The gassupply is therefore unaffected by the differencebetween the internal pressure of the chamber and the externalatmosphere.

AW'e do not, however, limit the scope of our invention to any speciiicmeansfor maintaining a constant supply of cans or corn within thechamber or for delivering cans from the interior to the exterior of suchchamber, nor do we limit the scope of our invention to any specilicapparatus, it being obvious that a great variety of devices may beemployed in carrying out the method herein described.

It is well understood that the normal boiling-,point of materials of thedescribed class is approximately 212G Fahrenheit, this being thetemperature at which water will boil under normal atmospheric pressure.Curinvention contemplates raising the tem peratu re sufficiently abovethis point to thoroughly sterilize the material preparatory to itsinsertion in the can, and relates particularly to the means whereby thematerial may be transferred to the cans and the latter sealed while thetemperature remains at a point which would cause such an immediatevaporization of the Water as to throw the contents of the cans outexplosively `unless subjected to pressure considerably in excess of thatof the normal atmosphere. Byourprocess,however,themaintenance of anair-pressure sufcient to balance the internal steam-pressure of thematerial enables us to fill the cans and transfer them to the positionfor sealing without reduction of temperature or loss of ebullition.

What we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. 'The method of canning corn and other vegetables, consisting in,first, cooking the same and raising the temperature thereof to a pointconsiderably in excess of the normal boiling-point;VIV second, fillingthe cans with corn at such temperature, underasurrounding atmosphericpressure greater than the normal pressure of the atmosphere, andsufiicient to prevent the ebullition of the contents of the cans; andthird, sealing the cans while the contents are maintained at-suchtemperature, and with the cans and contents subjected to suchsurrounding pressure.

2. The method of canning corn, and other vegetables, consisting infilling and sealing cans at a temperature in excess of the normalboiling-point, and simultaneously subjectingr the cans and contentstoasurrounding atmospheric pressure sufficiently in excess of the normalpressure, to prevent ebullition.

3. The method of canning corn, and other vegetables, consisting in, rst,cooking the vegetables; second, in filling the cans; and

third, in sealing the cans, all of saidsteps being performed under asurrounding atmospheric pressure greater than normal.

4. The method of canning corn, or`other vegetables, consisting, first,in cooking the material and raising the temperature thereof materiallyabove the normal boiling-point; second, filling the cans with material,at said temperature, and simultaneously applying an externalair-pressure thereto sufficient to balance the internal steam-pressureof the material; and third, sealing the cans while such pressure ismaintained.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures in the presence of twoWitnesses.

CLARENCE H. PLUMMER. FRANK T. STARE.

Vitnesses as to signature of Clarence H. Plummer:

,DAVID F. MArcHE'rr,

ARCHIBALD CATTELL.

Witnesses as to signature of Frank T. Stare:

JAs. B. EEWIN, L. C. WHEELER.

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